


Inescapable You

by heartbreakordeath



Category: Bastille (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, First Meetings, Gen, M/M, idk how to tag bastille fics i give up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:01:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24211027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartbreakordeath/pseuds/heartbreakordeath
Summary: “Thehellare you on about?”“I’m telling you, he’s either a terrible stalker or a vampire.”in which charlie is a uni student, and obsessed with that one random mysterious guy he sees everywhere on campus.
Relationships: Charlie Barnes/Dan Smith
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	Inescapable You

**Author's Note:**

> title from the song of the same name by The Moderates (aka the singer from half•alive's old band)

Charlie’s never been much of a superstitious type, but this is just getting _weird_ now. As he dashes through the rain and up the steps to the third ancient-looking building of the day, he wonders whether he’s finally going crazy.

It would make sense, really- finals week is creeping up on him like the grim reaper of his degree; he’s barely seen any of his friends since they started dropping like flies a week ago, bailing on all their daily plans to disappear into their dorms to revise. He’s barely been outside the four lonely walls of his own room, honestly, but unlike them his brain _refuses_ to let him sit still and study.

And maybe that’s why he finds himself leaving through an unfamiliar side door when his class is over, stumbling across a part of campus he rarely visits. He wanders down the paths, avoiding the puddles left by the midday spurt of rain and the students who rush by on either side. A group of seniors dressed up in suits shove a manila folder back and forth as they walk by, arguing about the final presentation Charlie assumes they’re headed to. A girl nearly slams her backpack into his shoulder, talking loudly on the phone and not paying attention to anybody around him. He glances back in time to see her collide with a guy in a tiger onesie, her cell phone flying directly into the nearest muddy puddle.

He winces and turns back around, narrowly dodging a tree branch hanging over the edge of the path. His shoes slip on the wet brick, and his breath catches in his throat before he grabs the branch to steady himself.

He sighs in relief, looking up to see the familiar towers of the library in the distance. _Could be a good place to study_ , he muses. He steps onto another path (this one thankfully paved with concrete instead of brick) and heads in that direction. 

The building looms before him, a monolith of stone in the center of campus. He pushes open the heavy glass door and heads for his favorite study area in the back.

(“Favorite” is a loose term meaning “the only one he’s ever been in.”)

Weaving his way around the couches and tables scattered around the floor, he shrugs off his backpack and tosses it down next to an armchair in the corner. 

And then he turns around, and sees the person in the chair across from him. 

_Yep. Definitely going crazy._

* * *

_A week earlier_

“The _hell_ are you on about?”

“I’m telling you, he’s either a terrible stalker or a vampire.”

“A vampire? Where did that even come from?”

Charlie sighs exasperatedly and starts ticking off on his fingers. 

“I’ve never heard him speak.”

“You’ve never talked to him.”

“Shh.” Charlie flaps the hand he’s not counting on in his friend’s direction. “He’s super tall and pale…”

“Charlie, you do realize we live in England, right?”

“ _And_ I see him everywhere I go, but we don’t have any classes together. How many people are on this campus? Twenty thousand?”

“That’s a bit generous,” Woody argues with a roll of his eyes. “You’re taking the weirdest range of classes I’ve ever seen, nobody would have the same schedule as you.”

“Exactly! So why are we _always_ in the same part of campus then, hmm?”

“Because it’s a _university_ , Charlie. People walk places at universities. Besides.” Woody snaps his fingers. “If he was a vampire, he wouldn’t be out during the day. So there.”

“You don’t know his life!” Charlie defends jokingly, a smile starting to creep onto his face. “Maybe he uses really strong sunscreen. Or maybe it’s the hair…”

“The hair?”

“Are you _sure_ you’ve never seen him around, Wood? You _must’ve_ seen this guy’s hair- you can see it from miles away.” 

Woody sighs and checks his phone, standing up and slinging his backpack over his shoulder. 

“Have you considered that _you_ might be the stalker in this relationship?” he calls over his shoulder as he leaves.

Charlie scoffs, “‘Course not,” and sits alone for a minute. He just...happens to know that this mysterious stranger always comes out of the music building when Charlie walks into it, and that they always seem to be in the dining hall right before it closes at night. Oh, and the guy always seems to be listening to music. That’s...not weird at all. _Right?_

_Shit_. Maybe he is.

* * *

  
  


And that, Charlie supposes, is why he finds himself unable to focus as he plops down in the armchair across from Handsome Vampire Stranger™. How is he supposed to, when Handsome Vampire Stranger™ looks like _that_?

Woody’s hair is getting long, now, but this guy’s hair is a _sentient creature_. It sticks up in all different directions, curling at the ends, and he looks like some sort of nerdy adorable mad scientist.

Because yes, Charlie decides, this man- whoever he is- is pretty cute, okay? He’ll admit it- he’s not unattractive by any means. Hence _Handsome_ Vampire Stranger™. Not that it matters to Charlie, of course. Not at all.

He peeks over the top of his notebook after a few minutes of doodling random lyrics that float through his head. The hair catches his eye first, of course, looking even wilder than usual. Then there’s the mini keyboard in the stranger’s lap, connected to a pair of studio headphones that are doing absolutely nothing to tamp down the mountain of hair.

Charlie watches as the guy taps out a few notes, switching back and forth between his laptop and the keyboard. He starts humming after a few minutes, nodding his head to whatever beat he has playing on the computer.

He shouldn’t be so distracted- should be studying or writing or drawing- but it’s the longest amount of time he’s ever been this close to his recent obsession, and he can’t help staring. _God, he’s cute. And mysterious. I wonder what he’s making…_

“Sorry.”

Charlie blinks. Did Handsome Vampire Stranger™ just... _talk to him_? 

“Is it too loud?” The guy pushes his headphones off his ears and points at them. “Sometimes these don’t work very well. I can turn them down…?”

Charlie stares dumbly at the stranger. _His eyes are really blue_ , he thinks deliriously. _Why are they still looking at me?_

_Oh._

“Um- no,” he replies eloquently. “They’re fine. I can’t hear anything. All- all good.” He gives the guy a thumbs-up and dies a little inside.

“Oh.” _Fuck, he has a nice smile._ “Just checking. Wouldn’t want to bother you.”

“You would _never_ ,” Charlie assures him with far too much enthusiasm. “Music always gets a pass from me. Play that shit as loud as you like.”

The guy laughs softly, and Charlie adds _has a nice laugh, too_ under his list of things he knows about his strange acquaintance. 

“Seeing as we’re in a library-” Vampire Stranger raises his eyebrows for emphasis “-I’m sure you’re the only one who would appreciate that. Not that you would,” he backtracks quickly, shaking his head. “It’s shit anyways.”

“I bet it’s not,” Charlie shoots back (again, far too enthusiastically for his own good). “What are you making?”

He knows he’s crossed a line as soon as he asks. The stranger leans back into the chair, grabbing the keyboard before it slips off his lap, and shakes his head violently. 

“It’s nothing,” he says with a wave of his hand. “Just a song I’ve been working on. For fun, you know.”

“For _fun_?” Charlie can’t imagine ever describing his passion as ‘fun,’ despite the fact it’s what he wants to do for a living. “Time-consuming hobby you’ve got there.”

That gets him a timid shrug. “I s’pose. My friend Ralph says I should post it somewhere,” he says, like it’s the craziest thing he’s ever heard. Charlie perks up.

“You should! If he says it’s good, then I’m sure it is and you’re just being pessimistic about it.”

“What about yours, then?” Charlie doesn’t like the knowing glint in the stranger’s eyes as he says that. _Yep, that’s it. Stalker vampire confirmed._

“Mine?” He finds himself asking anyways. _Just to confirm_. _Can never be too careful with these types_ …

“Yeah.” The guy blinks, looking confused and a little embarrassed. “I see you around a lot? You always have a guitar with you.”  
  
_Oh. That would make sense_.

“And you’re writing lyrics,” he continues, gesturing at the notebook that Charlie’s accidentally holding upside down, perfectly in the other man’s line of sight. “Which I can only tell because your handwriting is _much_ better than mine.”

“...thanks?” Charlie’s pretty sure all of his brain cells have left the vicinity. _Fuck_. He fidgets in his seat, glancing down at the notebook and pulling it towards him protectively. “It’s supposed to be an album,” he adds lamely. Handsome Stranger’s eyes light up, and he leans forward again.

“ _Really?_ You’ve got a whole _album_?”

“Well-” he shrugs. “Not _yet_. But I will.” He pauses, thinking of all the exams coming up next week that he’s been putting off studying for. “Someday.”

Mr. Stranger looks impressed. “That’s amazing! I write a lot, but I don’t have nearly enough decent songs for that.”

“You do, now?” Charlie worms his way in, trying to take the attention off of himself. “What kind of stuff do you write?”

“I don’t know, it’s-” A pause. “A bunch of different things, I guess?” He glances at his open laptop. “This one’s about _Twin Peaks_ , actually.”

“Oh, cool!” Charlie pauses, debating whether it would be worth pretending he has any idea what that is. “That sounds really interesting.”

It’s not a lie, really- _everything_ about this guy is interesting to him. He could sit there and blather on about the price of wheat for hours and Charlie wouldn’t interrupt him once. 

_Is that weird? Probably. Definitely._ He blinks. Handsome Vampire Stranger™ is still staring at him, waiting for a response to a question Charlie can’t even begin to remember.

“Huh?”

“I said, I’m probably the only one on this whole campus who gives a fuck about _Twin Peaks_.” 

Charlie laughs. “I bet you could convince me to give a fuck about it.” And there it is. He pauses. The guy ducks his head shyly.

“Just ‘cause I never shut up, you mean,” he mumbles with a wry smile. Charlie’s eyes widen.

“No, of course not! You’re just...interesting.”

“Interesting?” Mr. (Very Interesting, Actually) Stranger scoffs. “What about me is interesting?”

It’s Charlie’s turn to pull away and look embarrassed. “I, uh- well, I see you around a lot, too.”

“I know. I was starting to think you were some kind of vampire or something.”

Charlie slaps his leg, ignoring the looks he gets from the other students around him. “That’s what _I_ said! You get it!” 

They both laugh, hiding it behind their hands when a girl next to them shoots them a glare. “What’s your name then, Handsome Vampire Stranger?”

Mr. Stranger’s eyes widen in surprise. “I get to be a _handsome_ vampire?”

Charlie scoffs and hopes he’s not blushing. “Have you ever seen an ugly vampire?”

“Good point.” A pause. “I’m Dan.”

“Charlie.”

“Cool.”

“Yep.” 

They sit for a moment, Dan considering the keyboard on his lap and Charlie pretending to look anywhere else. Dan’s face brightens suddenly, brow furrowed, and he taps out a few experimental notes, tugging the headphones back over his ears. With a sigh, Charlie turns back to his own laptop.

He actually manages to get some studying in, humming aimlessly as he flips through a textbook and scans it for anything useful. Neither of them say anything, until Charlie glances up at a sudden movement that catches the corner of his vision. 

Dan’s leaning forwards a bit, headphones around his ears again. He looks hesitant, like he wants to say something but isn’t sure if he should. Charlie waits. 

“Do you...d’you wanna listen?” Dan points at his keyboard.

“What? Really?” Try as Charlie might, he can’t hide his enthusiasm. “You’d let me?”

“I mean,” Dan shrugs, “it’s not very good. Not even done yet, really. I just- I dunno, you seem like someone who knows music. I’ve been working on it for a while and it’s just...not _done._ Like there’s something missing.”

“Oh.” _He wants my help. Not-vampire-and/or-stalker Dan. Wants my help._ “I mean- I’d love to.” He prays that Dan doesn’t see how overly fucking excited he is over the simplest of interactions.

Dan stares at him ( _okay, yeah, his eyes are really blue and_ **_very_ ** _nice, good to know_ ) and Charlie barely reacts in time to grab the headphones he’s being offered. He pulls them over his ears and looks back over expectantly.

Dan looks paler than usual as he hits a key on his laptop.

“Tell me if it’s too loud.”

Charlie just stares at him, eyes widening as the song starts to play.

“Holy fuck.”

Dan reddens and shushes him, eyeing their onlookers warily as if they’re all about to shun him and kick him out for making shitty music.

“What the _fuck_ , Dan!” Charlie laughs incredulously. “This is _amazing_.” He starts humming along a bit when the chorus comes around again. _This is your heart, can you feel it?_

“It’s not- I mean, it’s just a demo.”

“Well, _yeah_ , but it’s great! I could never.” Charlie takes off the headphones reluctantly and hands them back to their owner. “All my stuff is depressingly morbid death pop.”

Dan leans forward with a teasing smile on his face. “No way! That’s my favorite genre.”

Before he realizes it, Charlie’s pulling up the latest version of “Easy, Kid,” and Dan’s looking at him like he’s the greatest artist of their generation, and they forget all about vampire stalkers and finals week and the students who trickle through the library around them. It feels like they've known each other for years, instead of the mere hours that they waste talking late into the afternoon.

Charlie’s never been much of a superstitious type, he swears; but he can’t help feeling like _maybe_ , it wouldn’t be quite that bad if he was, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> yes, the tiger onesie bit was a reference to that one time they- yeah, they wore- yeah, you guessed it, tiger onesies. i'm so clever aren't i.
> 
> anyways hope u enjoyed, this somehow took me literally two weeks to write ??? and i have absolutely no idea why it was so hard but it's here now so thank goodness for that.
> 
> also shoutout to rain for being awesome and beta reading for meeee and helping that dialogue not be a complete trainwreck


End file.
